SMALL THINGS THAT MADE A DIFFERENCE

At a time when many of us are frustrated by the deteriorating condition of society, I remember two events from my past where I did a small thing that made a moral difference.  Thought I’d share them.

When Jim and I were first married, nearly 45 years ago now, we lived in North Bergen, New Jersey.  To get from the place where we lived to the main part of town, we had to drive up what everyone in this area calls the viaduct.  The viaduct ultimately leads most people into the Lincoln Tunnel on their way into New York City, but locals also use it to get to Kennedy Boulevard, one of the major north/south roads in Hudson County.  If you’ve ever taken the NJ Turnpike or Route 3 into New York City, then you’ve used the viaduct.

 The viaduct isn’t very attractive.  I’m guessing it was built back in the late 1930’s or early 1940’s, so the roadway is old, some of it is crumbling.  At this time of year it’s probably riddled with potholes, and it’s always clogged with traffic.  The view as you come up from the west is a hodgepodge of advertisements of stores, movies, and cheap motels.  Back in the 1970’s when we lived there, there was one motel that always had a kind of sleazy message, like: “Day rates - $8 an hour”, and much worse things I have since blotted from my mind.**

**At dinner tonight my husband reminded me that the sign that prompted me to finally write said: "Love your neighbor here."  

Several times a week I drove that roadway and that sign always bothered me.  I didn’t really want to be assailed by some slimy message day in and day out.  It offended me, maybe it offended other people.  I finally reached the point where I thought I needed to do something.  So I wrote a letter.

I’m not even totally sure now what I wrote in the letter.  I’m sure I said something about being offended by some of the messages on the billboard, and wondered what effect such a sign might have on people driving from New Jersey into New York along the viaduct for the first time.  Whatever I said, it wasn’t long after that I got a phone call.  The owner of the hotel had received my letter.  He took me completely by surprise when he said he had never thought about the effect his sign might have on the people driving by.  He apologized and said he would change the messages on the signs to be less offensive.  And then I shared my faith in Jesus with him, and he thanked me.  And he kept his word about the sign.

It wasn’t long after when I read that he had died suddenly of a heart attack.  I hoped that encounter had made an eternal difference for that man.

Another time I was in our local Krauser’s store when I noticed a display of Playboy and other girlie magazines right at kid level.  I knew I didn’t want my kids getting an eyeful, so I asked if I could speak to the owner.  He wasn’t there that day, so on another day I went back and asked if he could move the display behind the counter so it wasn’t out front where children could view the photos.  And he did!  That was so easy I don’t know why I didn’t just ask him to remove them altogether!

Small things yes, but they made a difference.  What if we acted on those things that bother us today?  Maybe we could make our own small differences in our own neighborhoods.